High Shelf Gaming Podcast: Recent Episodes
David Gillespie
A podcast about board games, role playing games and gaming conventions! We bring on game designers, creators, players and game masters to talk about their passion.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse Retaliation // an RPG in a Box Our good friend Simon is the lead narrative designer for this new Tabletop RPG in a box, designed to work without a Game master, it tells a grim story of a werewolf sept who loses their home to The Defiler. What follows is a challenging adventure where the players, a sept of Garou, decide how to take back what was taken as Garou.
This sports a unique approach to spirits, allies, and even lone wolf mechanics that ensure this game will have plenty of replay ability.
Flyos Games Links: Website // Retaliation Site // Kickstarter
Simon / Wandering_DM links: Twitch // Twitter // YouTube
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
PAX Unplugged High Shelf Gaming has another convention survival guide for you! The unique gaming experience at PAX is a joy and Philadelphia has a lot to offer. We cover housing, gaming, the dealer hall, food and Philly specific entertainment options and even a bit of the history you can take in while visiting. We also have a few warnings in here to help with safety.
PAX Link: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
Hunters of The Occult a Monster Hunting TTRPG Van Helsing inspired TTRPG where players make seasoned monster hunters with signature weapons that grow with the character throughout the campaign. The career progression influences the themes each player character brings to the game. One of the things we love hearing about is how games come together and how collaboration between writers and artist completely shapes the direction and themes of the game.
Links for the game and company: The Kickstarter Storeywood Games
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
Gen Con for the first time w/ Taylor Taylor joins Dave and Rich to talk all about her plans for Gen Con 2022, and we cover all the best pre-convention planning ideas. We had a lot of plans and desires this year for Gen Con
Catch Taylor on HSC and many other live streaming channels and of course on twitter
Taylor (twitter)
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
AGON // Evil Hat John Harper and Sean Nittner join us from Evil Hat Productions to talk to us all about AGON, the thinking behind some of the truly unique game mechanics that sets AGON apart from other games. AGON brings unique dice mechanics, story mechanics, and downtime rules supported by some remarkable assets on Roll20.
The story behind why Roll20 became their platform of choice for Evil Hat games is a great look at how production companies make partnership decisions for their players to.
Evil Hat Website Twitter Roll20 AGON
John Harper Twitter
Sean Nittner Twitter
One More Multiverse VTT
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
Latin American RPG Market Hugo has unlocked the secrets of selling tabletop roleplaying games in Mexico and throughout Latin America and he joins us to share the lessons his publishing company, The Death Die Club, learned along the way. We've wanted to bring Hugo back forever and he's been on quite the journey in finding the path to profits in Latin America as a game publisher. We also take a minute to talk about the online gaming conventions in Mexico, Cafe game days Fernando and Hugo worked out with Cafe owners, and just how they promote gaming throughout the region.
Death Die Club links: Website - https://thedeathdieclub.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Thedeathdieclub/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheDeathDieClu1
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
7th Sea City of Five Sails David Lapp and Rob Croy from Pine Box Entertainment are very close to releasing a new card game into the world based in the rich world of the 7th Sea tabletop RPG! We get a sneak peak into some unique mechanics and story points. One thing you'll find is that David and Rob are gamers with a capital G. They play so many games and reference many inspirations. Bless these two as they try to explain the game and components to Rich and Dave, it's a blast!
New Website & Playtest on Tabletop Simulator - End of June Pre-release Tournament (Lore impacting) - Gen Con 2022 Kick Starter launches - September 2022
Pine Box Entertainment
City of Kings Game Production Blog
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
- Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective
- Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective
- Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
- Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop
- Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
Gen Con 2022 Dave and Rich are goin to GEN CON 2022 along with tons of shelfies to run events and have a great time this year. We chat about what we're doing different this year and what we're looking forward to. We've learned a lot in going to other conventions since 'all this' began. The way Gen Con does it is just special compared to other shows.
https://www.gencon.com/
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/ Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
Episode Notes Jason Cordova (@jasoncordova6 ) of Gauntlet Publishing (@GauntletRPG) fame (distributors of Trophy, and makers of The Between) are giving Brindelwood Bay (@BrindlewoodBay) a new life as a kickstarter project. Brindelwood Bay itself is a fantastic blend of Golden Girls and Cthulhu investigation using all the tropes of Murder She Wrote and other detective shows of its time. We've been playing it for years in it's earlier form on our twitch channel. Jason joins HSG to talk about the journey this game has taken to be ready for kickstarter and how he came to the novel approach to the core mechanic of Brindelwood Bay, the Mystery system.
This game has brought us so much fun it's worth a look for any group looking for something completely different.
The Gauntlet Online Resource library
For those looking to see an example of play check out the HSC Actual Play series
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links: Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/ Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollective Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcollective Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/HighShelfCLTV/shop Teepublic - https://www.teepublic.com/user/highshelfcollective
Dave and Rich emerge from an ancient podcast slumber - we talk about the last couple years, what happened to us as people and as a podcast show. It feels good to be back if you'll have us!
Listen on: iTunes//Google//Spotify//Stitcher
HSC Links:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/HighShelfCLTV
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highshelfcltv/
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/highshelfcollec...
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/highshelfcol...
Website - https://www.highshelfcollective.com
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@highshelfCLTV
Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/High...
Teepublic - http://tee.pub/lic/kC7c_kIbrRI
Dave and Rich along with the rest of the HSG community had a lot of fun at the first-ever Gen Con online. We go through some of the obvious differences with Gen Con being fully virtual and talk about some of the surprising aspects. Well, surprising to us. For instance, most of the players in our games were 1st time Gen Con attendees, they expected to be in contact with the GMs weeks in advance and seemed to want to keep playing games with us after the convention. Which... is so bazaar when you think about how normal conventions go. Virtual conventions seem to be an excellent place to find new people for your discord as HSG and several of our community members ran games in HSG's discord and pulled players to their own discords.
merchandise Link!
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Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Rich and David are joined by Kratrina to talk all about player character death in tabletop RPGs. It can be fun, it can be devastating, and there are a few tips we've learned along the way to navigate those deep waters. Kratrina has been on the show in the past covering several topics and she plays in many of our streamed Actual Plays
merchandise Link!
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Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
WE ARE BACK! Gen Con Online is fast approaching at the end of July 2020 and there's a lot of learning we all have to do. Effectively this is a First-Year online convention. To help us navigate these waters we brought on two folks from Gen Con. Derek is the Sr. Event and Program Manager at Gen Con and Dominic is the Event Coordinator for Gen Con. They join us during the run-up to Gen Con Online to help us all understand what the convention will be like this year and talk about what we can all do to get the most out of it. A few more helpful links when considering Gen Con Online: Links for hosts: https://www.gencon.com/host/bestpractices https://www.gencon.com/host/thirdpartyplatforms https://www.gencon.com/host/new https://www.gencon.com/host/eo-gmYouTube and Twitch https://www.youtube.com/user/GenConVideo https://www.twitch.tv/gencontv
merchandise Link!
Listen on:
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
High Shelf Gaming has always been a remote gaming community. We have sprinkled information over the years about the tools we use for board games and roleplaying games but this episode puts it all into one place for your convenience during Covid-19 or novel coronavirus. This is unpresidented time. If you are sheltering in place or practicing social distancing - Thank you! you are a part of a global movement to help everyone in your community. Never has all of humanity done something like this on such a scale. Bravo.
Organization tools: DiscordCalandyWhenisgood.net
Video Chat DiscordFacebook MessengerWhatsappGoogle HangoutsWebEx (free for up to 100 participants) Zoom
Boardgames over the web TabletopiaTabletop Simulator
Roleplaying game Virtual Tables Tabletop SimulatorAstralRoll20Fantasy GroundsD&D BeyondDriveThurRPG Extras Play by Post guide BASILISK STATION - A Traveller Blog (Example Play by Post game)
Cyberpunk 2020/Red fans (Discord Server) DMs Guild.com for solo adventures Tunnels and Trolls Legend Keeper
merchandise Link!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
High Shelf Gaming brings on Zac and David to talk about their new Kickstarter 'Knights of the Shadow Realm' which is a gigantic D&D module bringing characters from 1st to 20th level with a big story all along the way. David ran this game for his friend group and is turning the adventure into this module for you and your friends to play. It comes with the main quest and a living world of interwoven plot-hooks that change as the world progresses around the player characters. We also take a moment to talk about Zac's D&D supplement which includes a TON of material for oceanic games, monsters, subraces, and lore all available for the GM wanting to take on the high seas.
merchandise Link!
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
We are so fortunate Randall Porter reached out asking to come on and dive deep into Gen Con's history. The stories he shares are mind-boggling. From remote-controlled robots poaching customers from other booths to folks sleeping in parking lots in early Gen Con days. We get a strong sense of how Gen Con worked under TSR, WOTC, and now as an independent entity. We even get a bit of a glimpse into the rift between Gen Con, Origins, and how they mended fences. Randy is an excellent guest and brought a wealth of information to the show.
merchandise Link!
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Scott has been a fixture in the high shelf gaming community for over a year now, and he runs the RPG Zone at Pax South! This year we had the opportunity to partner with him to get some signage up, boost the RPG turnout at Pax South and provide a ton of giveaways from R. Talsorian Games, and Hot Springs Island! RPGs at Pax South grew a ton this year and are poised to go even bigger in 2021. We are so excited to be invited on this ride and hear some great insights on how PAX South differs from other PAX conventions. Also, there was a San Antonio Spurs (basketball) game going on...
merchandise Link!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Getting all the way back to our roots in RPG gaming with games that launch as zines (small magazines from people self-publishing) Rich and I welcome Patch on to the show who is making Terranary RPG and releasing it on Kickstarter as part of Zine Quest 2! This RPG sounds so interesting to us. It uses a dice system I don’t think either of us has heard about, or even anything similar.
This compact setting sounds like it packs plenty of conflict and drama between three heavily populated worlds in a shared solar system amidst a political truce provided through a 4th solar system-wide government. Patch is cramming a lot in 48 pages, and we are looking forward to reading it all. Kickstarter link
merchandise Link!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Riley from Pactless Patrons is a seasoned PAX conventions attendee and volunteer. They have attended 15 PAXi over the years but have never been to any other conventions. Rich and Dave field questions and dish out advice to let Riley know what they're in for. We cover a lot of topics comparing the two styles of conventions: the scope of Gen Con, the Enforcers at Pax vs Gen Con Staff, and how subtle differences create very different experiences. We also get into Gen Con's event pricing and how the assumptions Gen Con makes are very different than the assumptions PAX makes.
Riley is an excellent guest and a real pleasure to engage with and they share so much knowledge about PAX. I think we all learned a lot from each other. We hope to have them back on after Gen Con to get their thoughts and impressions. Riley [they/them] is on twitter: @RileyGryc
merchandise Link!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
We had the pleasure to bring on Bruce Voge from North Star Games to talk about their latest board game, Oceans which is expected to hit stores March 23rd, 2020! Oceans is a thematic update to their popular game, Evolution, and Evolution: Climate which we reviewed not too long ago. It's important to understand that Oceans is not an expansion but a standalone game which uses some of the same concepts, in a new context and has some very important changes to the rules which make for a game with more 'come from behind' possibilities than were readily available in Evolution. This episode is a different format than we normally use. Rich and I start things off then hand it over to the interview which plays uninterrupted. We always love your feedback, let us know if this format is pleasant to listen to. To catch up with Bruce and his podcast find him at these places Personal Twitter: @brucecothinks Podcast: @partygamecast
merchandise Link!
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
PAX Unplugged is a unique player in the tabletop convention scene, the way it works and assumptions it makes about attendees are different than the other conventions out there we break down those differences and what makes PAX special. David was able to attend with some friends of the show, get interviews with game designers and play lots of board games. Games reviewed: Oceans by North Star Games Cities and Skylines by Kosmos Periodic, Cytosis by Genius Games
We attended an excellent panel: Guiding Queer Narratives in TTRPGs
And provide insights into some D&D Facebook groups: All Things D&D turns out to be an excellent group to join.
merchandise Link!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Rich and David review the new location for Board Game Geek Con, in Downtown Dallas and 8 boardgames rich got to play at the show. Having left the DFW airport, BGG Con has followed in the footsteps of some incredible DFW based cons such as A-Kon and Anime-Fest which now see much larger attendance numbers. But with that growth came some growing pains. Rich sites a few of them along with the benefit of being closer to better food options and the rest of what Dallas has to offer. We cover several games! Masmorra Dungeons of ArcadiaFirst MartiansHomeworld by Looney LabsSpynet by Z-man Games & Richard GarfieldShobu Cretaceous Rails (proto-alley) LucidityToo Many Bones
We have merchandise now!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Luke the Goon from the Dark Future podcast joins us to talk about his second gaming passion, OSR RPGs! or Old School Revival Role-Playing Games. Luke brings a ton of experience with these games and some great input on what games to will get you started. Come on and dive into the nostalgic reboots of D&D. Mentioned in this episode: basicfantasy.org
Black Hack RPG
[free] White Box - Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game
TenkarsTavern.com
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
You can find Luke and his Dark Future here: TwitterYouTubeBlogPodcastCyberpunk Discord (which we founded together along with JonJonthewise)
We have merchandise now!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
HSG returns to Gen Con Food and Drink in and around the convention center. We add more tips and advice from our first attempt in 2017, and make sure to talk about places that are still open! 2017's guide was great but it mentions a few places that have since closed down. Rich and David walk you through the most likely places to find food, and some tips on what you can do to get better food options with a tiny bit of effort. One point we don't say enough in the episode is stay hydrated. Gen Con's wonderful air conditioning and all the walking is going to dry you out. We recommend getting a little flat-pack water bladder just to keep your head cleared while you play in the world's best games and tournaments.
As always we love feedback and more food suggestions. be sure to leave comments on Facebook or twitter, wherever the discussion is. Lastly - we are running a giveaway! contest winners will get a bundle of goods! We will be accepting submissions from December 23rd, 2019 through January 10th, 2020.
Contest details: To enter simply go to Facebook or Twitter and tell your friends and followers about your favorite HSG episode! Maybe tell them a bit about why you like that episode. Tag us so we see it. 1 entry per human. After January 10th we will gather all the submissions and roll a die to figure out who our two winners will be!
1 - You will get a copy of the Cyberpunk Red Jump Start Kit! (US winners get a physical copy, international sorry but we hope the .PDFs will suffice) + Beta access to Legend Keeper a tool that helps you track your imaginary world, RPG campaign, or write your next fantasy or sci-fi novel. It effectively combines Google Maps with Wikipedia just for your projects. + something special from Rich (details in the episode).
2 - You will also get beta access to Legend Keeper + something special from Rich (details in the episode)
Huge thank you goes to R. Talsorian Games for their continuous boosting of our show on social media and sponsoring this episode. We are all pumped for what 2020 will mean for RTG.
Also, we want to thank Legend Keeper for kicking off an ongoing sponsorship of HSG staring now with 2 give away licenses! We'll be giving away more of these in the future, we're so excited for this relationship and the success of LK.
We have merchandise now!
Listen on:
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
We can hardly believe we've made 100 MP3 files in just over 2 years. High Shelf Gaming has been a fantastic passion project during this time so we wanted to celebrate for a bit during the holidays. There are giveaways inside this episode! Two lucky winners will get a bundle of awesome! We will be accepting submissions from December 23rd, 2019 (today) through January 10th, 2020.
Contest details: To enter simply go to Facebook or Twitter and tell your friends and followers about your favorite HSG episode! Maybe tell them a bit about why you like that episode. Tag us so we see it. 1 entry per human. After January 10th we will gather all the submissions and roll a die to figure out who our two winners will be!
1 - You will get a copy of the Cyberpunk Red Jump Start Kit! (US winners get a physical copy, international sorry but we hope the .PDFs will suffice) + Beta access to Legend Keeper a tool that helps you track your imaginary world, RPG campaign, or write your next fantasy or sci-fi novel. It effectively combines Google Maps with Wikipedia just for your projects. + something special from Rich (details in the episode). #2 - You will also get beta access to Legend Keeper + something special from Rich (details in the episode) Huge thank you goes to R. Talsorian Games for their continuous boosting of our show on social media and sponsoring this episode. We are all pumped for what 2020 will mean for RTG. Also, we want to thank Legend Keeper for kicking off an ongoing sponsorship of HSG staring now with 2 give away licenses! We'll be giving away more of these in the future, we're so excited for this relationship and the success of LK.
We have merchandise now!
Listen on:
iTunesGoogleSpotifyStitcher
Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
HSG takes on Gen Con Event Registration to add more tips and advice from our first attempt in 2017. Rich and David break down strategies for groups of gamers who can pool their effort and are comfortable paying each other back for events registered. We cover solo attendees and some good suggestions there and give some insights into how Event Organizers are measured by Gen Con. Also, we talk about the things you can do without registering, there are tons of ways to enjoy Gen Con without booking every second of your time. Not mentioned in this episode, which we should have, try not to over-book your Gen Con. Leave time in there for food, socializing, walking the dealer hall. If you have back to back events all convention long you will be exhausted by the end of it.
We have merchandise now!
Listen on:
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Running events at Gen Con is one of the most rewarding things we do every year. Last year, we went bigger than ever and plan to grow again in 2020. This episode shares the lessons High Shelf Gaming has learned over the years to help individuals and groups of event organizers have a successful con!
Rich and David have been running events at Gen Con and other conventions for years, so this is a blending of not only Gen Con-specific knowledge but also general convention gaming prep. We also sneak in some pro tips for players too, so if you attend Gen Con or one of the larger conventions there are some kernels of wisdom here for you.
High Shelf Gaming will run events at Gen Con. If you want to join us as a GM or play in our games, be sure to join the HSG Facebook group and Discord where we organize all those efforts. We have many independent contributors and folks from other podcasts and channels who team up to make for an awesome group of games. This all helps us pool our efforts to earn badges and hotel reimbursement from Gen Con, which is a big deal!
We have merchandise now!
Listen on:
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
The Gen Con Survival Guide series that launched HSG has aged a bit and changes have hit Gen Con and Indy. Meaning, we need to remake this series and update it with current tips and suggestions.
In this episode, David and Rich talk all about housing for Gen Con. We cover the housing portal and how it behaves leading up to the con when rooms will suddenly become available. HSG discusses how to stack the odds in your favor as well as contingency plans with places like Airbnb, VRBO, and some…err creative solutions for when the portal doesn’t go well. Episode Correction: We talk about changing and canceling rooms in the housing portal. Changing rooms is free, canceling entirely is where you get hit with a $50 fee. Helpful links: Gen Con housing and travelFans of Gen Con Facebook group (EXCELLENT RESOURCE) Gen Con Housing Portal auto-checker (Github link, programmer-friendly resource)
We have merchandise now!
Listen on:
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Other places you can connect with the HSG Squad:
Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
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It's that time of year again, when we think of others and imagine the best gift for them to receive during the holidays. Rich and David go all over books, games, and gaming accessories for those in your life you'd like to bring some gamer joy to. Got a friend with a new kid? got just the thing! another friend that seems to have everything they need for their RPGs? bet they don't have what we suggest in here. This was fun to record and timely to release.
Game Rundown: Exploding Kittens Ticket To ride Evolution Unlock - escape room in a box Pandemic Power Grid Trains Roll for the Galaxy King of Tokyo Settlers of Catan Pirates Cove (Catan) X-Com Board Game Rising Sun Agricola Scythe Pandemic Legacy Gloomhaven
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Our series on RPG storytelling concepts and tools continues with us diving into the murky topics of theme and structure. These tend to be tools for authors and filmmakers, but tabletop role-playing games have them too! They tend to be emergent only becoming clear after a few sessions, and not so much prescribed like they are in traditional media. Being aware of your theme can be very powerful for players and dungeon masters alike, staying true to the theme keeps a game alive, knowing how to build on or play with the theme can amplify a good game into greatness. Story structure reminds us that all storytelling follows a structure but then we provide methods that each of us uses to create games. Rich talks about creating modules, Rob talks about creating short campaigns through a chapter approach and David talks about creating an epic campaign arch, which also contributes to world-building. This episode was fantastic to record.
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Mordheim is one of those games that is easily overlooked by the core audience of the Games Workshop fanbase but immediately appeals to folks that like to sprinkle in a little bit of role play with their board game. Diana from Femsplaind Podcast and Femnpc joins us to talk all about this print and play skirmish game. Such a fun conversation about the game, and how to hack it for roleplaying and just greatness all around.
Diana also runs gaming for a convention: COGS up in the tri-state area and she's always doing projects on twitter and elsewhere. Definitely someone worth following.
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Our favorite board-game guest, Shara, returns! This time we’re talking about a game older than some of our listeners, but still incredible and worth a few hundred playthroughs - Settlers of Catan! It has many editions and expansions. We talk about the original three expansions: Traders & Barbarians, Cities and Knights, and Seafarers of Catan. There are still national and international tournaments for this fantastic game, which should speak to its greatness in the board gaming scene. Lastly, we cover a bit about Star Trek Catan and our hot take on A Game of Thrones Catan for good measure.
Sadly, the bit about a Settlers of Catan movie got cut. Here's the IMDB link if you want more info, but it looks like a dead project.
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David and Rich are joined by Braden, creator of LegendKeeper, a world-building and campaign tracking tool. It's a unique approach to blending maps, points of interest and auto-linking wiki articles is an excellent way to build out a world for an RPG or novel. It really sings when you use it to quickly recall any information during a game. We use it here to track HSG hosted games and, even though it is in beta, the feature set is growing rapidly and is already quite useful.
You can find Legendkeeper in these places: * Patreon - go here to get your account, costs $5 one time. * Website * Twitter @legendkeeperapp * Discord * Subreddit
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Rob from The Table is Yours podcast returns in our continuing series on RPG storytelling. This week we tackle the dreaded MetaGaming! Scourge of all RPGs? Well... it's not so simple. Many GMs and gamers hate when a player character acts on information and knowledge their character couldn't possibly possess. But, we permit many other forms of MetaGaming and MetaKnowledge, such as rewarding good roleplay at the table!
We dissect this topic from multiple angles and include tools and frameworks to use MetaKnowledge and MetaGaming in ways that aid the game. Hint: character success is often not the right way to use MetaKnowledge! We'd love your feedback on this episode be sure to join the discussion with one of the many links below.
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Our friend Elise returns to talk about a favorite board game, Evolution: Climate by North Star Games! Elise was on HSG:11 Women in Gaming episode many moons ago when she actually recommended Evolution to us. This game is cute, educational, competitive, and with the Climate rules, it really shines as a game. Elise also teaches Rich some colorful ways to describe cats.
You can see Elise's nerd comics on Insta @the_minstrel_cycle
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David has wanted to talk about this tabletop roleplaying game since day one of HSG. Finally, our friend Mike from Gen Con is free to revel in a shared love for White Wolf Entertainment, the World of Darkness, and Vampire: The Masquerade. Yes, David was once a little goth kid trying to figure things out. The products from White Wolf shaped his early role-playing experiences and shaped him into the kind of game master, dungeon master, and storyteller he is today. Mike similarly was brought up with White Wolf products and shares his passion for the franchise, and what it means to him to get to play this game. We run through the Vampire editions, talk a bit about 5th edition Vampire, and the hunger dice mechanics. Mostly, we focus on the original Masquerade product, White Wolf's history and how it was run through the wringer at CCP Games. Its time at CCP set White Wolf up to struggle after its sale to Paradox Interactive, and how the creation of new White Wolf RPG content really falls to Modiphious.
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Logan Bonner from Paizo joins us to talk about the game, the book, the journey, and the lessons learned in the creation of Pathfinder Second Edition! We are so fortunate to have him on the show. Logan really let us look at how this project came together, dive into some of the thought processes behind 2nd Edition pathfinder, how it compares to other tabletop RPGs, and to first edition. Rich and Dave have enjoyed getting to beta test PF2e in past episodes but this really takes the cake.
Pathfinder Second Edition continues the theme of high fantasy, high action roleplaying they're known for, but with some seismic shifts to how the game delivers that style of play to players. Paizo has often focused on player choices and character customization, but in our reading of PF2e they've gone the extra step to make a system that is fundamentally customizable for the game master. Everywhere we looked we found rulesets we liked that could be easily transformed or dropped without breaking the rest of the game. Logan helps us navigate some of those waters.
Great, enjoyable, and informative episode for folks who aren't already fully versed on all things Pathfinder and Paizo.
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Rob, from The Table is Yours Podcast, returns to kick-off a new series of episodes we're very excited about. We'll be breaking down the components of storytelling in tabletop role-playing games. This episode starts broadly so we can dive into details later, but we focus on the nature of the conflict, the role of obstacles vs. conflicts, the role of rivals and enemies, and the nature of defeating an obstacle and winning a conflict. We provide some tips for GMs to help sow conflict into their worlds, with plenty of room to fill in details later. We also provide some thoughts on player responsibility at the table and how in an RPG everyone has a role to play. Everyone is a storyteller (managing the world or characters) and the audience. This feedback loop results is a fun game with an interesting and engaging collection of stories to share with one another. Above all, we emphasize the importance of being mindful about the choices DMs and players make to improve games for everyone. This episode is a bit more in the vein of theory and topics than usual. Let us know what you think and what other topics in this series you'd like to hear about! We have merchandise now!
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Mark joins us from the Shelfie community to talk about a truly unique gaming experience at Gen Con, Megagames! These are 50-70 person games that took place at Lucas Oil Stadium, on the field. They are asymmetric games. Lots of players are doing different things and their actions influence the game for other groups and individuals in the most engaging and fascinating way we've ever heard. Mark clearly loved it as he played and helped run several games this year. Impressive, given this was his first time at Gen Con and his first time playing a megagame. These tend to be longer games, at four hours or more, and run in the tens of dollars to play. But, to hear Mark tell it, they're also dynamic and interesting. Apparently, megagames are huge in Europe as well, so lots of opportunities to play these games.
Another great episode from our community!
If any other Shelfie ever wants to come on the show do what Mark just did. Find us on social media and tell us about and an awesome game you played!
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We are so excited to get to talk about Cyberpunk Red, the new tabletop RPG from R. Talsorian Games! well... it's more of a starter kit but still, plenty to work with. JonJontheWise joins us from the Cyberpunk youtube and podcast community, he has a huge wealth of information about the old and new rules. Mostly this episode is David and JonJon geeking out with Rich hanging on for dear life!
We go over system updates, lore updates, our thoughts around the game license and what we're hoping to see in the future along with the huge wave of projects we have attached to this effort.
A blurb about HSG's upcoming Cyberpunk Red campaign is available here. It did not make the final cut of the episode. Here are JonJon's bonafides: Youtube channel | Twitch | Twitter | Podcast
and he does a show with his wife "The Wise and Sassy podcast"
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Gen Con 2019 is, hands down, the best Gen Con we've ever been to. Amy and Steve join us to talk about the highs and lows of the year's best four days in gaming. We ran events, made and handed out a 'zine, just a crazy fun time on Amy's secret plan to make sure HSG wanted for nothing all convention long. From a party bus to getting to play Cyberpunk Red and Super Robo Rally to a memorial service fro Noodles and Company to the wonderful times we had with the High Shelf Gaming community...This year was insanely fun. Huge thank you to everyone in the High shelf Gaming community who ran games and made the convention better for everyone. Thanks to Scott, Pattrick, Mike, Heather, Hugo, Fernando, and even Rich for running games and giving back to the community in such a selfless way. So freaking cool! This episode is longer and covers fewer games than past wrap-ups, but this was too much to keep to ourselves. Hope you enjoy the retelling of our times at Gen Con 2019.
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Some BIG News in the True Dungeon community. Token Nerfs, RFID chips going into specific high-value tokens, along with many other tidbits that Larry brings us. The first half of this episode is full of news and updates. The last half is a recap of the True Dungeon runs and True Raid event Rich and Larry attended. There are spoilers in the second half of this episode but we call it out, so if you want a completely fresh experience going into Gen Con 2019 you'll have heads up for when to stop listening.
Great episode, always love having Larry on.
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Rich has traveled to the land of origin, and many a game were played. Some old, some new. Great times were had by all. Seriously though Origins 2019 sounded like a well-run con this year, with smoother registration and many of the game organizers stepping up their game big time. We tried to get a report on Pathfinder 2E but a police action put Rich on edge. He couldn't really comment on the game while he was distracted.
Also, our shirts have been updated. If you ordered in the first couple days and aren't happy with the lettering on the '15th level druid paladin' shirt, you can exchange it with Teespring to get a better print. It's a limited window, so do it right away.
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Megan from Nord Games joins us to talk about some great topics. We cover not only their excellent DM and player tools but so many more things. Megan really embodies the latest wave of D&D players. She has an excellent take on the role Nord Games plays in the gaming scene and how the business of these supplements came together. Behind the scenes, it seems like many game makers lend each other help and look out for one another. Megan provides a peek behind the curtain if you will. And, bonus, this is a super fun episode all around. Nord Games
Facebook / Instagram
Discord
P.S. Megan turned us onto Quests & Chaos who make frequent use of their products on Twitch streams!
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The original Shelfie and all-around rockstar HSG community member, Brent, joins Rich and me to talk all about his first convention experience - KublaCon! I swear he's ruined for all other cons. He met and played games with probably half of all board game designers. Brent had an excellent time at KublaCon. So much so, he made a fan page on Facebook: Fans of KublaCon after hearing our episode about the similarly titled 'Fans of Gen Con' (HSG:53) #shelfies Stay on to the end to hear about hotdogs.
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Our friend Barry joins us to talk about a favorite game of ours, Acquire. This market simulation game can get pretty ruthless, and that's just what Barry and I love about it. We talk about tile placement, shares strategy, and the invisible stages of the game and how to spot them. Mostly though, we talk about how much fun we have teaching people to play in the hopes we get more people to play the game with us.
If you love Acquire, let us know!
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Rob from The Table is Yours is back this week to talk about Gloomhaven the Legacy Adventure board game! This game is crazy interesting. The world is so well developed, it's easy to fall in love from that alone. The gameplay itself is well thought out. You'll need a game or two to get acclimated, as there's a specific way each character needs to be played. It can feel a bit stiff in terms of playstyle flexibility. Overall, a great game to play between RPGs, or when the DM needs a break, or if you like a fantasy dungeon crawl legacy game. Listen now on:
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This is part 3 of our series on 3D printers. We bring a friend of David's to the show, Ryan, who has a great deal more experience with 3D printers. He has heavily modified printers and has a nice approach to building your own in a way that's not so overwhelming. Ryan has a lot of knowledge to share, so we paired it down to the big highlights. A few great resources he shared with us:
https://3dprinterwiki.info/
simplify3D troubleshooting guide - visual dictionary
3dprinting subreddit
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Likely our last episode for a bit. If you have more questions or ideas on this space share them with us! We'll gladly revisit if there's more interest.
After escaping the scene at Grindhouse the group lays low for several weeks at SnitchRich's family hideaway. This is the last session of our game and serves as an epilogue.
This episode is the last half of session 4 completing our little experiment.
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After escaping the scene at Grindhouse the group lays low for several weeks at SnitchRich's family hideaway. This is the last session of our game and serves as an epilogue.
This episode is the first half of session 4.
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Just a little punk rock show with some uninvited guests while a boy and a girl meet in a diner in cyberspace.
This is the second half of Session 3.
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Plans are in place and the crew moves to put on the concert of Tres' life while Snitch Ritch dives into the net for a clandestine meeting with his girlfriend, but where the fuck did Tres go?!
This is the first half of Session 3.
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This is the second half of Session 2. After a successful snatch and grab mission, the group's Fixer, Soup Kitchen, is gravely injured. On the run and laying low the group takes the spoils of the mission and enlists help from others to try and understand what they have on their hands and what they can do to get rid of it without dying in the process.
In this episode, the group plans a massive concert to provide cover while they dive into the net for a clandestine meeting. Two factions within Arasaka position to win an internal power struggle.
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This is the first half of Session 2. After a succesful snatch and grab mission, the group's Fixer, Soup Kitchen, is gravely injured. On the run and laying low the group takes the spoils of the mission and enlists help from others to try and understand what they have on their hands and what they can do to get rid of it without dying in the process.
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This is the second half of Session 1. We are trying something new! Episodes HSG69 - HSG76 will be segments of our Actual Play of CyberPunk 2020! We streamed and recorded this at the beginning of the year and have received requests to have the videos turned into podcast episodes.
Let us know what you think of this approach to posting our actual plays. Should they cross over to the podcast or stay on Youtube and twitch?
As we say at the beginning of this episode, the outpouring of support from Cyberpunk's Creators, R. Talsorian Games, was beyond anything we could have expected and are truly grateful for their support during this short campaign. Send them good vibes however you choose to do so please
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We are trying something new! Episodes HSG69 - HSG76 will be segments of our Actual Play of CyberPunk 2020! We streamed and recorded this at the beginning of the year and have received requests to have the videos turned into podcast episodes.
Let us know what you think of this approach to posting our actual plays. Should they cross over to the podcast or stay on Youtube and twitch? As we say at the beginning of this episode, the outpouring of support from Cyberpunk's Creators, R. Talsorian Games, was beyond anything we could have expected and are truly grateful for their support during this short campaign. Send them good vibes however you choose to do so please
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Rich and David return to 3D printing to talk more in-depth about all the things around the printer that can help. Some things you can make yourself with your own printer, others still need to be purchased, or a combination of the two. This hobby can go deeper even than we describe in the episode, but if you're exploring the idea of a printer or are struggling to get it really cooking - this episode will give you an idea of what kind of tools you should have around to be successful.
Here is the incredible calibration guide. it is extensive and should not be used Day 1. Open this sucker up after you've had some fun and want to get really serious about perfect printing. Here's a link to the horribly offensive court transcript animated by the Rick and Morty crew (NSFW).
Other resources:
Thingiverse
Shapeways
3D Printed Tabletop - YouTube channel
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Here at HSG we love going to gaming conventions and we love talking about them. This time around, our friends and guests Larry and Allen invited Rich to attend their favorite local Pennsylvania convention out of Butler, PA: CoS Con, managed by our new friend and guest Dave! CoS con is associated with the local gaming group and has grown into quite the event. They host epic modules from WoTC and Paizo, hosting several tables competing in RPG tournaments, our own team came incredibly close to winning... if only there wasn't a spoiler in the midst. This episode serves as both an enthusiastic endorsement of CoS con and other local conventions, but also a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks hosting the HSG crew in their home is a good idea (spoiler: it is not.) We're so grateful to Dave for his excellent convention and gracious hosting of the gang in his own home.
CoS Con resources: FB page, Website
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This begins a periodic series on 3D Printing in Gaming. We discuss the two most common types available for consumers (FDM and SLA) the strengths and weaknesses of both. We touch a bit on the software used and the many uses a gamer would have for a 3D printer.
A few tips to consider: things like joining the community for the printer you're interested in before buying, have an idea of your focus in printing (fine detail or larger items), be ready to fiddle and play with settings to really perfect your prints.
Other resources:
Thingiverse
Shapeways
3D Printed Tabletop - YouTube channel
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Mitch Returns!
We had spoken with Mitch before about how to set up a D&D game in the workplace and keep it going. This time though we're talking about one of Mitch's favorite board games, Talisman. It's rough around the edges but a simple and fun game to spend the day with. Mitch owns something like 9 expansions, all the big ones and many small expansions so we get into his favorites and how piling on the expansions change how you'd play the game. I really like his recommendations in this episode. Mitch is in these places: Twitter and Tumblr as @Coolkidmitch!
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Twitter makes for interesting connections. We met Ari there and he had desires to be on a podcast. In talking with him some we realized he had insight into a world Rich and I only saw from a distance. Live Action Role Play (LARP) and specifically a national organization of fantasy LARP called the New England Roleplay Organization (NERO) We learn some surprising facts and briefly expose my own history of Vampire Larping back in the 90s with mixed results. This game is bigger and more interesting than I ever knew. Shame on me for not being open to it sooner.
You can find Ari on twitter @ari_covert
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In this episode, we are joined by Patrick Kanouse, a sci-fi and mystery novel author, who happens to be a huge fan of Traveller RPG. As one of the first and certainly the most popular space opera RPGs Traveller is one of the classic mainstays of the role-playing industry. Patrick helps us unpack some of the primary themes of Traveller and break down the various editions of the game. We chat about the big draws for the system. Like the iconic character creation process that's a risk vs reward system that can lead to PC death before the game even begins. We also chat about how insanely flexible the system is from a technology perspective which leads to some cool discussions around some of the most popular Sci-Fi shows out there today and their possible origins (spoiler: we're pretty sure those creators played Traveller). We also take a swing at talking about Traveller's impact on the industry. Certain rules of traveller have made it into so many other games like our big favorites: Cyberpunk and Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
Some helpful links:
Traveller Map
Wiki
Freelance Traveller
Subreddit
Game Forums
Far Future Games
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Steve from our past episodes about LEGO Mind Storms joins us to talk about a series of LEGO events throughout the United States, Brickworld. This unique LEGO convention is a place for experienced builders to connect and trade tips and display their creations to the public. We get into a LOT of Steve's creation, talking about Super Robo Rally and some of what we can expect at Gen Con this year but more so talking about the Great Ball Contraption! This should serve as a lightweight guide to the convention and give a good overview of what kinds of things you'd find at any Brickworld event and even other LEGO Fan events!
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A great friend of mine, Mitch, has somehow convinced his company to let him use the office at night to run a 10-person Dungeons & Dragons game! Such a cool story and we wanted to share his nuggets of wisdom with our audience. It started out as a simple board game night to team build in a way that was totally free to his employer. Mitch slowly ratcheted up the complexity of the games he provided, and the duration of game night grew organically. Soon enough, it was a tiny step further to make it a D&D game for those interested. Mitch can be found on Twitter and Tumblr as @Coolkidmitch!
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Rich and David finally get to talk about a game they fell in love with years ago at Gen Con 50. Yes, it's XCOM The Board Game by Fantasy Flight. Yes, it has an application you need to play it, but we were hooked back then and wanted to give it a couple years to see if our enthusiasm stuck. It did. Here are our thoughts on it. Note: There's a mature joke in here. Not sure I've been super consistent when we joke about penises but in this episode we do. Also a political joke, which we never do. Not sure what was up this session, we felt pretty loose and in high spirits. Don't burn us down, or do, whatever. We're not in charge of anything important. Hope it's fun for you too.
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Rob Croy, from The Table is Yours podcast, returns to talk Horror RPGs and Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium. This episode dives into the system but spends most of its time talking about how to start and maintain a horror game. We spend a lot of time discussing 'horror maps' and other methods to keep the suspense up without letting the terror escape the game. Horror games can be tricky, but a ton of fun when they come together.
We also discuss several great modules by Chaosium that could be adapted to fit your group and even other systems quite easily.
Resources:
CoC quickstart rules - scroll to find the Free PDF
Scenario - Masks of Nyarlathotep
The Trajectory of Fear - a guide to how to map horror throughout a game
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Rich and David are back to talk all about the history of their favorite gaming convention, Gen Con. How it got started, and what steps led to its enormous success. Everything from the humble beginnings as a place to play "Fight in the Skies!" and other war games to the ideal incubator for D&D and TSR. early on Gen Con becomes the place to launch games like Magic the Gathering, whos founding company goes on to purchase TSR and Gen Con... Really an interesting story. ::Correction! We claim Gen Con is the largest convention in the world... There is another. and it's an impressive 3x larger with 190,000 attendees! over in Germany: https://www.spiel-messe.com/en/
^ Turns out this convention does turn style accounting instead of estimating headcount. It's a fair bit smaller than GenCon. Unless it doesn't, then it is larger. We're getting conflicting reports and I can't read German.
Some additional resources: Interactive site with maps, timelines, and every Gen Con program cover
Gen Con Wiki
40 Years of Gen Con, a hardcover book detailing waaaay more than we ever could
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Mike returns! Rich and Dave talk with Mike about the apps, tools, resources, and websites we use when making worlds, adventures, and games for tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like D&D, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, and others. In this episode, we make a theme song, talk about my celebrity look alike, try and help the audience, talk about old school web tools like Web Rings, and oh yeah MAKE A THEME SONG. It's a terrible song, but I love it, so it stays in.
Tools we cover: Archivist Elements - Android App full of DM tools
Azgaar Fantasy Map Generator
DiceCloud D&D 5e Character Tracker
Reddit's World Building subreddit (join their Discord, it's awesome!)
Legend Keeper - A great way to keep all the lore of your world organized and tagged to maps
Adventure Lookup
DM's Guild
Dragon's foot - early DnD resource!
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A competitive introverts dream game - Shara returns to chat with us about a game we've all been playing a ton of in our Roll for the Galaxy. This is a dice chucking, dice pool building sci-fi game that's tons of fun for the type of gamer who doesn't need a lot of interaction or 'screw your neighbor' type play. Born from Race for the Galaxy, Roll for the Galaxy is its far more successful offspring. We talk basics, clarify some confusing rules, and strategies for the base game and touch on the expansion just a bit.
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We bring Heather back to chat about a broad swath of fantasy RPGs. If your group has been playing tons of D&D 5e, and wonder what else is out there we cover lots of systems. We cover diceless systems like Amber and Dread, low-dice systems focused on story and roleplay, and more tactical and crunchy systems that are popular and available. We even sneak in a Fantasy / Sci-fi hybrid of ShadowRun.
Also, In the end, Rich exposes his fursona as a bear.
We've already covered so many games that we discuss in greater detail. Here are some links to our past episodes covering these great games: The Witcher Part 1, Part 2
ShadowRun
Pathfinder 1st Edition, 2nd Edition (pre-beta)
Legend of the Five Rings and other Samurai Fantasy RPGs
And Old School D&D
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David and Rich talk all about Dice. Symmetry, Balance, Process, and Results! We get in the weeds on how to test your dice, how to get more randomness. Why you may not want to pick up casino dice, other precision options, and why there's this rash of games requiring custom dice.
Chessex
Crystal Castle
GameScience Precision Dice
WizDice Precision Metal
Customizable DM screen
Grade AAA Casino D6s
Dice Shrine and Well of Shame
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This week Alec, the admin for the wonderful Facebook group: Fans of Gen Con, joins us to share his passion for the convention, gaming, and the story of the group's path to becoming the best place to find information about Gen Con on the internet.
With the group's size ballooning to 15,000+ users, Alec and his team of moderators enable all things Gen Con to be discussed in a safe way. It's interesting hearing how they tackle everything from repetitive questions to super controversial topics cropping up before, and even during, the convention. A great episode for certain.
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Just in time for the holidays, Ryan returns to talk with us about his and Rich's experiences at BoardGameGeek Con. They played 13+ games, new and old, and review each one. It's a fun episode packed with information.
Games Reviewed:
Math Trading at the con
KeyForge
Trains: Rising sun by AEG
Fire of Eidolon
Power Grid
Archmage
Star Trek Fluxx
TransAmerica by Rio Grande Games
Diceborn Heroes
Too many bones
Zoo-Ography
Tokaido
Dungeoneer
Sushi-Go
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This week Mike returns with a new Dungeons and Dragons game and a familiar problem: The party is a bunch of oddball classes. Though challenging for some DMs we talk about the some of the issues that can creep in mid and late game, and the extra care a DM should take early levels while people get their feet wet. We also talk about some dream teams we've wanted to run games for and the inspiration behind them.
Fun times are always had when Mike's on, please enjoy!
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This Week, Thanksgiving week, we are thankful for volunteers like Amy who's joining us from the Gen Con volunteers community to share with us what brought her to Gen Con, volunteering, and what it's like to help 60,000 people have a great weekend.
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This week Rich and I discuss our first year and plans for year 2. There are giveaways (multiple in this episode), so be on the lookout for those.
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This week the phenomenally talented B. Dave Walters (Victor Temple on LA By Night) joins us to talk gaming, streaming, comics and philosophy. We cover some serious ground in this episode. Everything from his upcoming comic book, games that he's running and playing in on Twitch and other streaming venues along with an absolute wealth of background, history, and thoughts. B. Dave could teach a master class on what it takes to achieve your goals.
He's available in many places all at once: @BDaveWalters, Patreon, New D&D Comic, His regular crew at @UncommonTrust, and several shows on Geek and Sundry: Ask Your Black Geek Friend, We're Alive: Frontier, and of course LA By Night! He's also appeared on Stream of Many Eyes and will certainly be in tons more shows in the future.
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This week Rich schools me in what it takes to raise kids into being gamers. He's two for two on this and I figured he'd be a great resource! Rich has some interesting ideas... And it looks like my hopes of turning my new child into a Go (Baduk) master are perhaps too ambitious...
Tons of fun making this episode! please enjoy
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Heather's triumphant return! we talk about a great game she introduced to our Friday night Twitch streams: Dead of Winter. Rich and I love this game, it's crazy fun and pretty tough when you get away from the starter scenario.
It has so many game tags too - worker placement, action economy management, crisis management, pvp, pve, cooperative, betrayal, zombies! but the real star is the fantastic flavor text that draws you into the game and the horrific decisions you make as players.
Still doing our give away, listen for details on how to enter!
Heather is on twitter and other social media as @Kratrina
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This week Rich and I talk about an early favorite of our Friday Night streams, Scythe by Stonemaier Games! When we first started our friday night streams we played this game a ton and finally made time to talk about it. Part instruction, part review this episode goes all over the basic board game and talks about the 3 expansions as well.
The thing about this game is that it combines a lot of the things we love from other games, with a dramatic setting that evokes real feelings of strife. The minis are great and I could see using them at the RPG table (ok maybe not the mechs but the heroes definitely).
We snuck in a little give away at the end too, so be on the lookout!
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This week two accomplished artists from the RPG and gaming community join us to talk about all kinds of stuff! we talk about their relationship to the industry, their specialties and cover some important social topics as well. Rich and I mostly hold on as Jabari and Crystal reveal some fascinating underpinnings of the industry from their experiences.
Huge thanks go to both of them for coming on the show and being cool during our technical difficulties during recording!
Crystal's work can be found here:
http://crystalsully.com/ | @CrystalSully | http://untamedbeasts.com/
Jabari's work can be found here:
www.jmwillustration.com | www.lunarveil.press | @jabariweathers | IG @jmwillustration | www.fortuneandfey.tumblr.com
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LEGO Super User, Steve Hassenplug, joins us to talk about some truly remarkable creations and how they came to be. Steve created Super Robo Rally using LEGO Mindstorms and Raspberry Pi based on the award-winning game, Robo Rally by Richard Garfield (of Magic the Gathering fame).
Steve is an accomplished builder, joining a special group of adult Lego builders to help improve LEGO Mindstorms. He was featured in Wired Magazine talking about the experience and of course, we get into it on the show as well. He is also partner to Brickworld, the nationally-known, family-friendly LEGO events. He tours with them as well as makes time every year for Gen Con.
Steve's creation kicks off our Gen Con every year and is near and dear to our hearts. If you've been listening to this podcast you've heard us gush about these guys since the very beginning with Episode 1. We're already looking forward to next year and can hopefully pick up a full run again and make it an event for the whole HSG family at Gen Con 2019!
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This Week Hugo and Fernando share their story of coming to D&D. They have adventures in getting books! It's quite a tale and shows some of the challenges o gaming in Latin America.
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This week my great friend Phillip joins us to share his newfound love of Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu. Rich and I have played the pandemic series extensively, never this game and Phil is the opposite of us! so lots of good discussion about the game, how it compares to the base editions and a ton of good details on how to get into the Cthulhu lore (Phil is quite the expert)
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This week we continue our talk with Cody Pondsmith from R. Talsorian games who just designed and published the tabletop RPG of The Witcher, based on the video game series by CD Projekt Red. The co-creative projects between these two companies have been a favorite topic around here at High Shelf Gaming. Getting to talk with Cody covering so much material has been a real treat for us.
This episode covers much of the lethality in the system, some mechanics discussion and reasoning behind those rules along with some future expectation for the product line. Lastly, we get into some fun stories about the trials of being a GM. We don't talk about it in the episode but Cody and the rest of the development team have been doing an absolute ton of Q&A discussion with the community. Every week they post several Q&A threads detailing different aspects of the game and updating errata as necessary. Catch R. Talsorian Games and the TRPG Witcher Community here:
Wordpress
Discord
Company Store
TRPG Witcher Facebook group TRPG Subreddit
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This week we're joined by Cody Pondsmith from R. Talsorian games who just designed and published the tabletop RPG of The Witcher, based on the video game series by CD Projekt Red. The co-creative projects between these two companies have been a favorite topic around here at High Shelf Gaming. Getting to talk with Cody covering so much material has been a real treat for us.
This episode covers much of the genesis of the game, their process for putting it together and the depth that Lisa and Cody Pondsmith went through to get it right from a lore perspective. Impressive effort on their part. I don't think another studio would have contributed so much to the lore of another product in such a responsible way as they have. Already their product is credited with confirming several rumors about Witcher Schools other than the one which gave rise to Geralt. We don't talk about it in the episode but Cody and the rest of the development team have been doing an absolute ton of Q&A discussion with the community. Every week they post several Q&A threads detailing different aspects of the game and updating errata as necessary. Catch R. Talsorian Games and the TRPG Witcher Community here:
Wordpress
Discord
Company Store
TRPG Witcher Facebook group TRPG Subreddit
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This one is special. Heather (AKA @Kratrina) returns with a friend from the Critical Role community, Conner (AKA @Cybrwulf1201) joins us to talk all about their first time at Gen Con. We cover everything from the many live shows and panels they got up to, lessons learned, and some great laughs as Rich and I are exposed to a completely different side of the show from anything we've ever seen.
Huge shout out to the amazing and wonderful Critical Role show and their community (critters as they like to be called), to Dungeon Master - Interactive Stage Show (@DungeonMasterLA), Library Bards (@LibraryBards, @bonniebellg, @xanderrific), @theanimegoddess, Maze Arcana with @satinephoenix, @mazearcana, Dread game system (@hydra_lord) https://dreadthegame.wordpress.com/about-dread-the-game/
And lastly, two amazing artists who really took great care of @kratrina (Heather) @crystalsully @kristinacarroll You can find more of Connor's stuff here:
Twitter, Twitch, YouTube
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This week Rich and I recap our best GenCon yet! we played several great games but more importantly had a ton of really great moments with other creators, fans of the show, and some special celebrity interactions that really couldn't happen anywhere else but GenCon.
What we got up to
- D&D 1st Edition
- Fireball Island
- Super Robo Rally!
- Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition (beta testing)
- Rising Sun
- True Dungeon N2 & N3
- We met Joe Manganiello
- And Met Mike, Lisa, and Cody Pondsmith (of Cyberpunk 2020 / Witcher RPG Fame)
And of course an excellent Gen Con Meetup with the High shelf gaming family
Special thanks to Amy and Paul for taking such great care of the HSG family, you rock! Hugo and Fernando for finding us and spending so much time talking games with us at the show. And of course Dicks Last Resort for providing us with tons of giveaways and gift-cards for our fans and the GenCon community at large!
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Rich and I take this week to talk about a game Rich loves that's going away soon. We just got back from Gen Con 2018 (Episodes are coming!) but for this week we wanted to just bask in the memory and fun this game provides Rich and his family. Uplifting Bonus! he has an awesome idea on how to hack this card game into the likes of Cyberpunk 2020 / Shadowrun. We'll be spending some time in the coming months working out the kinks and when we're ready we'll roll out the system hacks for everyone to see.
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This week Mike returns to talk with Rich and me about Cyberpunk 2077/2020's primary location: Night City! We had to come back to talk about the history of the city, take a safari and discuss the local wildlife... Gangs, Corps, and of course the Combat Zone. We also talk DM tips for finding great floorplans for any combat scenes you want to put together.
Mike talked about this Soviet-era abandoned airbase which he uses regularly to inspire firefight terrain.
RPG books worth picking up (affiliate links):
- Night City sourcebook full of general city knowledge good for folks hungry for details of what might be in Cyberpunk 2077
- Cyberpunk 2020 game system
- Chrome books 1 & 2 Gear
- Chrome books 3 & 4 More Gear
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Our True Dungeon Guru, Larry, returns to share with us some more basics about this game, talking event types, difficulty levels, and volunteering opportunities. But the real fun of this episode is hearing Rich and Larry talk about True Raid, a special invite-only event that they got to participate in. At the end of this episode we talk N1 - Journey in to the Astral Bliss, the first part of the new True Dungeon storyline.
There are a couple spoilers at the end so if you're hoping to go into N1 fresh we warn you ahead of time so you can stop the episode when we start the discussion about N1.
In this episode, we talk about one of my favorite D&D lampoons: Cubicles and Careers
Topics:
Gen Con E-Tickets (and true dungeon ghost tickets)
Volunteering for True Dungeon
True Raid (a special event for true dungeon backers)
N1 - Astral Journey to the Bliss (first installment of the new TD story line)
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This week we bring Al back to join Rich in telling us all about Origins Game Fair this year. They played a ton of games and give us a rundown. The Pathfinder 2E sneak peek they got is in an earlier episode, and the True Dungeon they played will be covered in a future episode. This is all about the smaller games and passion projects they got to enjoy.
Games they played:
- Rich brought an escape room
- They played D&D 3D - 1st Edition (battle royal style D&D)
- Clout!
- Gunfights and Gambling
- Robot Rise
- Legends of Andor
- Tunnel and Trolls (choose your own adventure game)
- One Deck Dungeon
- Expedition
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Heather (@kratrina) returns to tell Rich and me all about Shadowrun 5th Edition (affiliate link)! This is such a large game to unpack. We just scratch the surface and provide an introduction to the game and setting. We'll be revisiting this game to dive deeper into the storyline and system.
Bonus towards the end: Heist sessions can involve a ton of planning, where characters figure out how to do the heist. If your game struggles to fit all that planning time in at the table and still do the heist, this rule hack from HSG can help! It serves to make the heist more cinematic, and encourage improvisation and adaptability from the players and GM.
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This week Al comes back to chat about his and Rich's time at Origins Game Fair, and their experiences with the upcoming playtest for Pathfinder 2nd Edition! This episode is packed full of system detail and commentary about what they gleaned from a short 2-hour game. Quick plug for Glass Cannon Podcast, Al had listened to part of their series on Pathfinder 2e and shared some tidbits from their own research. Great guys! give them a listen. We talk about the Tripple action economy, 3 Phases of gameplay, Death and Dying, and so much more
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This week Mike returns to talk about Cyberpunk 2020, a roleplaying game from the 90s and how it influences the upcoming PC game Cyberpunk 2077. We talk about the system a bit, how lethal it is. Mostly we focus on the setting, Night City, and about how that's likely to be present in Cyberpunk 2077. We're super excited about this project from CD Projekt Red. If you're as excited as we are about the game and want to try your hand at the pen and paper RPG we've got lots of resources in the episode about how to sink your teeth into this game and setting.
RPG books worth picking up (affiliate links): Night City sourcebook full of general city knowledge good for folks hungry for details of what might be in Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2020 game system
Chrome books 1 & 2 Gear
Chrome books 3 & 4 More Gear
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Larry comes back to tell Rich and me all about True Dungeon tokens! These tokens are critical to the success of any True Dungeon adventure. There are so many tips Larry shares with us: Buying, trading, selling tokens. Most common types like trade tokens, reserve, monster bits, transmuted, legendaries and artifacts! and of course tips on how to transport these very expensive and valuable items.
We also discuss some True Dungeon news and correct some errors from our first episode about True Dungeon.
If you're new to TD, listen to our 3rd episode. It is all about True Dungeon, before diving into this guide. This guide is indented more for intermediate players or new players that are looking at their stack of tokens wondering what to do with them.
Our first episode about True Dungeon (start here if you're new): https://highshelfgaming.podbean.com/e/true-dungeon-the-best-game-at-gen-con-and-beyond/
Downloadable resources: https://truedungeon.com/resources Token Database: http://tokendb.com/
Character generator: http://www.davidallenkrause.com/TrueDungeonCharacterGenerator.aspx/
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This week Ryan returns with a new guest, Steven to share with us all the awesome things you can do with LEGO these days. Rich and I were blown away by BrickQuest and Mobile Frame Zero. The former being a classic fantasy dungeon adventure game and the latter is a custom mech fighting game! so cool! Steven and Ryan delve deep for us into the LEGO community talking about how to get into these games, find conventions, and join local LEGO User Groups (LUGS)
LEGO Community locator: https://lan.lego.com/clubs/overview/
Where to buy all kinds of LEGO: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/main.page
LEGO Convention: https://www.brickfiesta.com/
LEGO Games: BrickQuest: http://www.brickquest.com/brickquest/
Mobile Frame Zero: http://mobileframezero.com/mfz/
MFZ - Intercept Orbit (space combat): http://mobileframezero.com/mfz/mobile-frame-zero-002-intercept-orbit/
MFZ - Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/252503984838645/about/
A gallery of mech creations: https://www.flickr.com/groups/438009@N25/pool/
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This week we are joined by returning guests Rob Croy and Ben from The Table is Yours Podcast. They're here to talk about RPGs set in the east, Samurai Drama role-playing games specifically. We only had time for 4 games but it was a lot of fun.
We run the gamut from old-school 1e Dungeons and Dragons: 'Oriental Adventures', to 'Legend of the Five Rings' (4th Edition by AEG), to 'Blood and Honor' another John Wick game, and lastly the completely strange and unique 'Reflections' which turns out to be a draw dropping game and concept.
Don't have time to read all the little stories that come with your L5R LCG card packs?! TTIY has you covered with a new audio series. We're happy to broadcast that The Table is Yours is relaunching as an underground audiobook series of the new L5R fiction and literature published by Fantasy Flight.
Note: links to games for purchase use an affiliate link. If you buy from that link we will get a small % of the sale.
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
This week Rich and I are joined by the founder of an inspiring initiative, Jack Berberette of the DOTS RPG Project located here: https://www.dotsrpg.com/
DOTS RPG is a project focused on making tabletop gaming, RPGs specifically, more accessible for the blind and now other impairments and disabilities. The project has a ton of attention right now and they're engaged with many companies, developers, and groups to try and make this world a bit better for people who're unfortunately unable to see, hear, or roll dice. Truly inspiring effort, and we're so fortunate to have gotten Jack on our show to talk about all the good they're doing.
Also mentioned on the show is the RPG Research group: http://rpgresearch.com/ Another promising initiative. "We use a research-driven approach to create inclusive and accessible programs that measurably improve people’s lives through music and role-playing games." Very cool project.
You can follow Jack and his project on Twitter at @DOTSrpg and donations to their project directly aide in providing these special dice to the people who need it. This link will get you to their donation page: https://www.dotsrpg.com/heroes-wanted
Also, Jack just found a new app for the deaf! https://texthear.com/
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
This week Rich and I follow a great suggestion from the GenCon Facebook Group to dedicate an episode to food and drinks at the convention and surrounding Indianapolis area.
We take a DnD approach to this starting with 1st level GenCon attendees and the truly authentic first-timer experiences. Later, we talk about mid-level attendee fun like food trucks, and lastly some epic-level advice to really maximize game time and enjoyment of the convention.
If you're interested in joining us for our GenCon meetup (August 2018) join the HSG Facebook Group where we'll coordinate everything or take careful notes at the end of this episode for details.
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Facebook @High Shelf Gaming Podcast
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
We welcome Heather back to talk about how our GenCon event registration went (spoilers, it went crazy well!) and to answer all of the questions she had about the convention as this will be her first time attending GenCon. Heather is a seasoned convention attendee and helped me run events at some very large conventions in the past. Her questions are mostly centered around GenCon itself, and less about conventions in general.
Places to find us:
Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Gencon alternate event list: http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/
Q - packet Will Call or mail it to you? A - Really depends on your logistics. If you're arriving off normal hours or on Wednesday, will call is great. Since tickets get sold out now the volunteers that used to manage ticket sales are now helping with Will Call. Thursday during the day will be a longer line, Saturday even worse. Will Call is open 24 hours so try to pick up your packet during off hours the night before you start your con events.
Q - What's it like getting around downtown? lots of walking? A - City bus from the airport to Downtown, then walking a ton. going from one end to the other may take 20 minutes so pad in some travel time between events. Lyft and Gen-Con promotional pricing this year to help get around town. If you're driving in and need to park, GenCon's event registration will sell you parking passes.
Q - How early do should someone arrive to an event? A - True Dungeon just a bit before the time prior to the event. rules are if you're a few minutes late they'll drop
Q - Dealer's room when to buy and logistics A - post office nearby to ship by Saturday. Kinkos inside the convention center for Sunday shipping. Sunday is a good day to try for a couple deals, but popular stuff is going to be sold out long before that so think about which items you want to make sure to purchase on Thursday
We kept talking after the DM Tips recording and ended up in a cool conversation about some of the current examples of play out in the role-playing gaming scene. Not quite enough to be its own weekly episode but still a fun little conversation. Let us know if you'd like more of this behind the scenes chatter!
Places to find us:
Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Friday Night Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
This week Mike joins us to talk about some Dungeon Master tips in DnD and other RPGs. This episode focuses on building the story and what to do when players throw you a curveball. It's a fun discussion as all three of us have different approaches and expectations of our players and we get into the differences between running games for local friend group vs. running games at gaming conventions.
Mike turned us onto a great DM toolkit available on the google play store!
http://www.xalops.com/
Places to find us:
Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Friday Night Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
This week Kelly joins Rich and I to go back to talking about board games, specifically games that are great to bust out at a party or particularly packed gaming night!
We gave ourselves some rules:
- Small playing space
- Portable
- Quick to explain (less than 10 minutes)
- Quick to setup (few pieces)
- Accommodate more than 4 people
Places to find us:
Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Friday Night Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
This week Rich and I talk about Origins Game Fair, a simple guide to attend this lovely con!
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Twitter @highshelfgaming
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This week Vlad joins Rich and I to talk about where this lovely role playing game came from. How it came to be known as DnD 3.75 and chat a tiny bit about what we hope to see with the recently announced Pathfinder 2e.
Pathfinder is made by Paizo http://paizo.com/pathfinder/rpg
The new playtest for 2nd Edition is available here: http://paizo.com/pathfinderplaytest
We're on Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Friday Night Twitch /highshelfgaming
Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
This week Rich and I are joined by Mark and his son Matthew to talk about a smaller local convention in Houston, OwlCon. We chat about Scythe, Dr. Who Roleplaying game, Risk and the local flare around Houston.
We're on Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Discord Chat https://discord.gg/tMPCXgN
Part 3 of our Survival guide series on GenCon! Event Registration. Rich and I share all the tricks we've learned over the years to secure spots to the games we care about.
Also, we're planning an HSG dinner/drinks thing at GenCon this year, we'll spill more details in future episodes.
Event listing should come out near the end of April, Registration is May 6th.
https://www.gencon.com/attend/policies#registration
We're on Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
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The mental break for Dungeon Masters.
In this episode, Larry and Al join Rich and me in talking about the board games that Dungeons and Dragons have been putting out. Great games, tons of hours of play, interchangeable heroes from box to box, and excellent miniatures you can use in your Roleplaying games!
http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/board-card-games
This week Rich and I talk about the joy of running events at GenCon and other conventions. GenCon 2018's Event Organizer sign up ends March 10th but these tips will help you for any con.
We're on Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
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Rich and I talk about the game we've loved for the longest and certainly put the most time into.
This kicks off a series of episodes we're going to do about D&D.
We're on Facebook @ High Shelf Gaming Podcast
Twitter @highshelfgaming
Friday Night Twitch /highshelfgaming
Robert and Ben join Rich and me again to discuss Legend of Five Rings, the new card game. This episode focuses on the game itself, some basic strategy considerations and how layered the experience can be.
We get into the role that tournament winners play on impacting the game for every player in the future, uniquely this game changes after major tournaments in a way that no other game has attempted with player decisions impacting the story, and even the game rules for individual clans.
Fantasy Flight game page: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/legend-of-the-five-rings-the-card-game/
L5R Discord: https://discord.gg/jnVXhv
Card Database: https://fiveringsdb.com/#/
Play online for free: https://jigoku.online/
For more stories from Rokugan check out http://www.kazenoshiro.com/
Robert and Ben come to us from an excellent L5R podcast 'The Table is Yours' https://the-table-is-yours.pinecast.co/
Robert and Ben join Rich and me to tell us all about this very tactical card game. We're breaking this conversation up into two episodes. This one focuses on the world of Rokugan, the game setting for Legend of the Five Rings, the new Living Card Game from Fantasy Flight.
Resources: L5R Discord: https://discord.gg/jnVXhv
Card Database: https://fiveringsdb.com/#/
Play online for free: https://jigoku.online/
For more stories from Rokugan check out http://www.kazenoshiro.com/
Robert and Ben come to us from an excellent L5R podcast The Table is Yours https://the-table-is-yours.pinecast.co/
This week Ryan joins Rich and me to talk about the Board Game Geek convention in Dallas they put on four times a year. Twice in Dallas and twice on cruise ships! An excellent convention style to load up on tons of unique games with more 3,000 titles to chose from.
https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/BGGCON
Rich and I talk with several of our friends about their experience as women in the gaming scene. They share a lot of great experiences, both positive and negative, about the games and events they're apart of.
This episode is more serious than our normal affair, but we wanted to talk about this subject. We need to thank all of the people who asked to be apart of this episode, the timing didn't work out for everyone but the guests we had on were fantastic.
Guests * Kelly * Cassidy * Jessi * Heather * Elyse
---- Heather also has a blog at https://kratrina.com/ and is available on twitter @kratrina
This episode Rich and I discuss how to game the gaming con! GenCon Housing is different than it was in years past, this survival guide will give you every tool and trick we know to improve your odds of getting a hotel room, and some ideas on when you'd prefer some hotels over others based on the games you want to play. GenCon prep notes: * buy a badge sooner than later * have a credit card with an expiration date AFTER the show * be ready for housing portal JAN 26th! * travel to and from the convention * parking at hotels even downtown and it can add up * travel from airport - shuttle and bus * Uber and Lyft
Helpful Links:
Downtown map - http://www.downtownindy.org/explore-downtown/maps/
GenCon SubReddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/gencon/ GenCon Housing page - https://www.gencon.com/housing (login required) - http://www.gencon.com/attend/housing_travel (no login required) Cheap ride to and from the Airport! https://www.indygo.net/route/8-washington/
This Week Daniel joins Rich and David in talking about this cooperative deckbuilding game. A sleeper challenge that really ups the pain late into the game with tons of replay ability
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/135382/shadowrun-crossfire
Reprint!?
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1716719/will-there-be-reprint
http://www.shadowruntabletop.com/category/crossfire/
Kelly comes back to talk about her favorite game, Pandemic! It gets her epidemiologist heart all a twitter, naturally we have a deep bench of strategies and teasing to spell at Rich who's never won a game apparently.
We cover several expansions along with the main game here are links to the versions of Pandemic we covered:
Base Game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic
Expansion 1 - On the brink: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/40849/pandemic-brink
Expansion 2 - State of Emergency: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/168703/pandemic-state-emergency
Iberia stand alone (has rails!): https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198928/pandemic-iberia
Pandemic Legacy (evolving game, limited plays!): https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161936/pandemic-legacy-season-1
Contagion (you are the disease) : https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/157789/pandemic-contagion
Cthulhu version: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/192153/pandemic-reign-cthulhu
Broken Token organizer for base game + Expansions: http://www.thebrokentoken.com/biohazard-containment-unit/
Other sites talking about survival strategies:
https://www.thespruce.com/pandemic-how-to-avoid-outbreaks-410922
https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/2372/what-are-good-general-strategies-for-pandemic
A bit different today, this episode Rich and I revisit some games we talked about earlier in the year. We know it's a little... dumb? to do a looking back episode after only 6 episodes but hey, Game of Thrones Season 8 is what? 6 episodes? We're just following the greats!
Seriously though we're pumped to talk about our future here at HSG. We spend most of this episode talking about things to come and how much fun we're going to have in 2018!
A small but fun game where the players are galactic architects, competing to create the largest collection of stars, planets, and blackholes possible before the end of the universe. This competitive game shuffles turn orders and provides many paths to victory making for some creative plays to lock in a win. Board Game Geek
Game rules hosted by Gamer Nation
Gamer Nation product page - Alternative rules for cooperative play, Secret agenda cards are also available for print and play
It looks like they had intended to produce expansion packs to the game with more cards with each expansion but sadly never came to pass.
In this episode Rich and I are joined by my wife, Kelly in talking about this brand new Doctor Who game, that's actually really fun to play even for non-Who fans like myself.
Doctor Who: Time of the Daleks by Gale Force Nine games is a great take on the series, plays well as a semi-cooperative game with rules that really fit in well with the theme. We had a lot of fun with this game and making this episode!
Game's web page: http://doctorwho.gf9games.com/
BGG page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/186995/doctor-who-time-daleks
Shara joins us to talk about her favorite boardgame Ticket to Ride! We have a lot of fun talking around the game and how Shara's cousins and her conspire against her Uncle and how Rich's family never lets him win. Some links to help people get their Ticket to Ride fix on the go:
Days of Wonder's online games: https://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/play/
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/108200/Ticket_to_Ride/
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.daysofwonder.tt.android&hl=en
In this episode David is joined by Rob, talking about their love for True Dungeon. A type of in room dungeons and dragons with paid actors, difficult puzzles, and animatronic monsters! Truely a unique experience only available at Gen Con and similar venues.
http://truedungeon.com/
Rich and I talk about the first game we really played together Doom 2004 edition. We played at a convention of all places. We discuss the game itself and how we'd tweak it to make it more fun and some new ideas on how to really do something special for players in a big game.
Some more great resources about Doom old and new: http://geekandsundry.com/doom-the-board-game-is-back-in-style/
This episode Rich and David talk about all the great games they saw and played at GenCon and some strategies for how to get access to all the games you want to get when attending this sold out show!
Show notes for episode Gencon Official Website www.gencon.com
Gencon Record Attendance https://www.ibj.com/articles/65099-gen-con-brings-in-record-attendance-at-its-50th-convention
Captain Sonar https://www.asmodee.us/en/games/captain-sonar/
Masters of Orion http://masteroforion.com/intro
Firefly Brigands and Browncoats http://fireflythegame.com/
Heroes of Rokugan http://heroes-of-rokugan.net/
Eclipse Phase http://eclipsephase.com/
Super Robo Rally https://www.facebook.com/superlegoroborally/
http://www.teamhassenplug.org/superroborally/
True Dungeon http://truedungeon.com/